Jacob Hamilton on Directing a Feature Documentary Film for Over Seven Years

Today on The Rough Draft, we sit down with director & cinematographer Jacob Hamilton. With over 20 years in the industry, Jacob is best-known for his award-winning directorial debut Jump Shot, and his cinematography can be found in places like the documentary Facing Nolan, and more recently on Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines. On today’s episode, Jacob breaks down what it’s like to work on a documentary for over 7 years. He explains his process of preparing for interviews and how he finds the right people to contribute to the story. We talk about the unpredictable nature of documentary storytelling, as well as the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people. Alright, let’s jump into our conversation with Jacob Hamilton.

Guest Bio

Jacob Hamilton is director and cinematographer based in Austin, TX. With over 20 years in the industry he is best-known for his directorial debut JUMP SHOT (2019, SXSW WORLD PREMIERE), an award-winning feature length documentary about Kenny Sailors, the man who invented the modern day jump shot in basketball, his cinematography on critically acclaimed FACING NOLAN (2022, SXSW WORLD PREMIERE), and more recently his cinematography on MAGNOLIA TABLE with JOANNA GAINES for Warner Discovery & the Magnolia Network.

Episode Topics

(1:12) Getting started & pursuing a feature documentary

(5:30) Pursuing a documentary story

(7:10) How to conduct interviews for documentary films

(9:39) Securing celebrity athletes to interview for Jacob’s film

(14:32) Volume of interview footage, b-roll, archival footage

(17:36) Cutting a documentary story with transcripts

(22:01) Committing to the story

(26:58) Caring for the story subject & the unpredictability of documentary storytelling

(32:58) Surrounding yourself with the right people

(36:52) Being a dad while directing a feature film

(42:48) Childhood dream to reality

(45:12) Technology, tools & storytelling

Additional Resources

• jacobryanhamilton.com
• Instagram: @jacobryanhamilton
• Twitter: @jake_hamilton
• jumpshotmovie.com
• facingnolan.com

Episode Transcript

View the full Episode Transcript here.

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